Gentlemen - and ladies, this will probably go unheeded like my wife's advice to me - wear eye protection when doing hazardous work! So here is my precautionary tale:
On Saturday morning upon arrival at a volunteer roof replacement project, I was hit in the left eye with a shingle (my fault, I got too close to the house and the guys already stripping the roof didn't know it). I sustained a corneal abrasion and laceration, conjunctival laceration, vitreous hemorrhage, lacerated iris, and possible retinal detachment. I underwent surgery to repair the conjunctiva and cornea and remove debris from my eye yesterday evening. Based on a follow up exam this morning, it appears they have been able to save the eye, which was yesterday’s priority. The extent of retinal detachment is still not clear (no pun intended); the blood in the eye makes it difficult to diagnose. While the optic nerve is apparently intact, vision in the eye is very blurry and like looking through a heavily frosted window with some of the biggest floaters you’ve ever seen. I will have an appointment sometime tomorrow (will know at 8:00 AM) with another retinal specialist; additional surgery to repair the retina may be performed tomorrow depending on the diagnosis. Cautiously optimistic about regaining my sight.
On Saturday morning upon arrival at a volunteer roof replacement project, I was hit in the left eye with a shingle (my fault, I got too close to the house and the guys already stripping the roof didn't know it). I sustained a corneal abrasion and laceration, conjunctival laceration, vitreous hemorrhage, lacerated iris, and possible retinal detachment. I underwent surgery to repair the conjunctiva and cornea and remove debris from my eye yesterday evening. Based on a follow up exam this morning, it appears they have been able to save the eye, which was yesterday’s priority. The extent of retinal detachment is still not clear (no pun intended); the blood in the eye makes it difficult to diagnose. While the optic nerve is apparently intact, vision in the eye is very blurry and like looking through a heavily frosted window with some of the biggest floaters you’ve ever seen. I will have an appointment sometime tomorrow (will know at 8:00 AM) with another retinal specialist; additional surgery to repair the retina may be performed tomorrow depending on the diagnosis. Cautiously optimistic about regaining my sight.
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